SPAIN | RESTAURANT & HOTEL SPECIAL
Slow food in a homey place In the heart of the famous Eixample neighbourhood, in the busy city of Barcelona, you will find a cosy and inviting place where you can taste the familiar flavours of Mediterranean food mixed with fascinating textures from exotic places all around the world. That place is Pau Claris 190, a restaurant that will surely awaken all your senses. TEXT: GERARD PLANA | PHOTOS: PAU CLARIS 190
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wner Raphael Wanda sits at a table on the terrace, close to the tender light of the candles. “When I arrived in Barcelona, I had to choose whether to adapt myself to someone else’s kitchen or follow my own path.” He smiles while he looks at his wife Lizbeth. “Yet, soon enough, I knew that I wanted to do my own thing”.
in Ibiza. Once here, he designed his own space, set up his own kitchen and created his own specialties. The result is a small, yet super-cosy antique flower shop transformed into a welcoming restaurant. It is decorated with handmade furniture and filled with smells and flavours from around the world.
Before moving to Barcelona, Raphael spent two years in Gran Canaria and seven years
“We change the menu every season, that allows us to only use seasonal products,”
40 | Issue 10 | December 2019
Seasons matter, ingredients too
explains Lizbeth as she stands behind the reception. Her smile immediately makes you feel welcome and relaxes you. “Furthermore, we also assemble our wine selection with care.” Pau Claris 190 offers an interesting variety of wines that will satisfy the most delicate palates. The selection includes bottles from France, Catalunya, La Rioja and Gran Canaria, where Raphael started his career behind the cooktops. And the whiskey, of course, couldn’t be anything other than Irish, in honour of Lizbeth’s father. And what about the food? Perhaps you would like to have baby squid with yogurt hollandaise and a touch of watermelon as a starter, obviously combined with some of Spain’s finest wine. Or, as a main dish, tender, dry-aged duck breast with coffee and